I've had this AOS Samson mount for over 15 years now, and used it for 5 years with my main scope, a Suchting 10 inch F6 home built scope. I had it permanently mounted to a concrete slab. The mount came with a beat up 10 inch f6 OTA with a damaged mirror ( someone had used a scouring pad to clean it, so covered with scratches. A few years back, I scored a decent AOS 10 f6 mirror that needed recoating. I recoated it late last year and used the components of the OTA to rebuild it as a dob. I was originally going to put it on the EQ mount, but decided to keep it as a dob. As the mount was just sitting in storage not being used, I tried to get rid of it, but there was no interest.
I recently acquired another AOS 10f6 OTA in better condition and have decided to refurb it and the Samson mount as a long term project.
I have all the components for a complete set up, including the 240 volt drive ( which works fine). The Dec circle is a bit beat up, so looking for one in better condition. I'm not sure what the original mount colour was from AOS, when I received the scope it was a dark blue, but in a bad state. The OTA has a few scratches and scuff marks, but paint is still in decent condition. The spider and holder are original but focuser and finder are not. Below are a couple of pics of the set up.
Hi Ivan, I've had my Samson mount for over 30 yrs now. It still runs pretty good. I have the drive corrector too (but havent used it since film photo era). I thought about selling too but probably wouldn't be worth it. Good luck with your restoration mate. I will probably do same to mine one day.
Cheers, Richard.
Last edited by croweater; 17-10-2022 at 09:56 PM.
Reason: spelling
Thanks Graham, John and Richard. The biggest cost will be the mirror recoat. Everything else I can do myself. The mount is complete and another member has responded regarding the Dec circle, so that might be sorted. I actually bought a Dec circle from AOS when they were getting rid of their old stock but just can't find it anywhere. Richard, is that the original colour scheme on the mount?
Ivan I'm pretty sure it's the original colour. I bought it second hand but it wasn't that old that it would have been repainted. I've seen a couple of others and they were the same blue.
Cheers, Richard
ps my dec circle looks about as beat up as yours so its hanging on wall in my shed at the moment
Last edited by croweater; 17-10-2022 at 09:55 PM.
Reason: Add info
Great project! Haven't seen those mounts before, but if they are motorised already for tracking, then it'll be relatively inexpensive to make them fully GOTO with a cheap Onstep controller.
Here's the original motor drive, I tested the insulation resistance and it passed . I'll heat shrink those single insulated wires and will get a small weatherproof box to replace the existing one.
Ivan,
This seems to be Swiss-made 2-phase sync motor (cap is inside the box).. 50Hz.
To have tracking speed corrector, you need variable frequency DC (12V?) -AC (240VAC) converter.
Maybe it is easier to go straight to OnStep... you will do it anyway sooner or later
Location: '34 South' Young Hilltops LGA, Australia
Posts: 1,462
Ivan,
That 240V synchronous motor will only be rated at a few Watts.
If you intend to keep it "original," then you can power the motor from a 12v battery via a simple car 240v inverter available at any auto parts store. It won't have fast/slow controls but I assume you don't plan to use it for photography. The smallest inverters are about 150W and that would be plenty for such a small motor.
Thanks Bojan and Joe. Yes, no imaging here, just visual use. I've found some of the original paint colour on part of the mount while stripping the paint. It's the original dark blue that I've seen in images of original condition scopes. Will try and get a colour match.
